


Advent 25 (a)

by darksquall, lanapanda



Series: Science Boys Advent 2012 [1]
Category: Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Painfully fluffy and sweet, Sweet, advent calendar fic, no seriously
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-01
Updated: 2012-12-01
Packaged: 2017-11-20 00:39:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/579389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darksquall/pseuds/darksquall, https://archiveofourown.org/users/lanapanda/pseuds/lanapanda
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony Stark has been a little out of sorts lately - Bruce has noticed and worried about it but said nothing. Things finally come to a head on the 1st of December. (Part of an Advent series in collaboration with Lanapanda)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Advent 25 (a)

**Author's Note:**

> NOTE: I prefer the comics background for Bruce Banner rather than the movie background, hopefully I have managed to meld Comics Bruce with Avengers Bruce.
> 
> Disclaimer: The characters and places contained herein do not belong to me and I am making no money from this.
> 
> Lana will be writing Tony's side of this fic

Things hadn't been the same lately. 

Tony had been nervous. Maybe even a little worried. Several times Bruce had woken up in the middle of the night to find Tony's side of the bed empty and Tony off in the labs, working in the small hours. He trusted Tony implicitly - Tony was his heart and his soul mate, Tony was everything that had kept him sane in the weeks and months after the Chitauri attack and if it hadn't been for Tony, Bruce was sure he would have run again, anything to get away from it all, to hide from the world that now knew both of his faces, not just the larger green one.

Still, when he woke up to find Tony's side of the bed empty and cold, it was hard not to wonder if something was going wrong. Or if he'd done something wrong. Although he ignored the thoughts as much as possible, in those cold lonely hours the voice of doubt was always so much louder.

Finally on December 1st, Tony swept into Bruce's office with the grin in place and perched on the corner of his desk. It had been raining for about fifteen minutes so Bruce had kind of expected Tony's presence. The rain was soothing to both of them - Tony more so than Bruce. Really, Bruce had found comfort in the soft patter of raindrops against the window because of Tony. It made him relax, made his focus soften and above all, on those nights when demons had plagued both of their dreams, there had been nothing to soothe Tony like a rainstorm. 

"Feel up to skipping work and going out?"

"Sure," Bruce had smiled, setting his pen down from the paperwork he'd been filling out for one of their latest patents. "Are we going anywhere in particular?"

"Um... yeah," Tony had shrugged, looking anywhere but at Bruce. Avoiding looking at him deliberately, which only made Bruce worry more. "Yeah we are. A few particular places."

"Do I get to know?" 

"Just... places. You'll like it," Tony had held a hand out to him. When Bruce had taken it, he'd tugged him gently to his feet and pulled him into a tender kiss. Even if their nights had changed and been disturbed, those kisses of Tony's had never changed. They were still just as beautiful and perfect as the first loving kiss that they'd shared. 

"Mm," Bruce had hummed into the kiss, sighing with contentment. Tony could get him to agree to just about anything with a kiss. "Okay." 

The day was not as odd as Bruce had first feared. It had still been pretty early when Tony had appeared in his office, so they got to fit in a fair few things as the day progressed. Tony's itinerary included the natural history museum, an aquarium, and a walk in the park. Bruce barely had time to worry about how Tony seemed to be keeping him busy. 

Their final stop was an office building. Eighteen months earlier, the streets here had been filled with Chitauri, held back by a couple of superheroes, a couple of master assassins, a god, and a monster. Bruce looked down the street as they stepped out of the car, the memories hazy and slanted oddly - he remembered little of his time as the Hulk, but what little he did remember came in odd flashes and brought with it pain and sometimes little rolls of anger. 

"Hey," Tony nudged him and offered Bruce his hand. "Come upstairs with me?"

Bruce looked at him, Tony hadn't changed out of the suit that he'd worn to the office that day before they'd left. Bruce almost wished he had, To him, Tony was still more the jeans and a band tee-shirt type of guy, the brilliant man who'd grinned at him as Dummy had sprayed one of their projects with the fire extinguisher after it had gone explosively wrong and just shrugged and said 'oops'. 

Bruce had laughed and hugged him. The hug had led to their first kiss. And their second, third, fourth... Dum-E had sprayed them with the extinguisher - by accident, Tony had assured him - and distracted them. Not for too long, but at least long enough to make it somewhere more comfortable.

"Sure. Where are we?"

“An office building I bought. Wasn't sure what I was going to do with it at first, but... had some ideas over the last few months. Come up and see.” 

Tony led him inside, showing him around. It was an office building, still a work in progress, but upstairs on the higher floors, the built in offices had been transformed into working laboratories, fully equipped and waiting to be utilised. Several floors had been sectioned and dedicated to specific projects they'd been running, and some of the larger offices turned into private lecture theatres and areas dedicated to teaching.

In the center of the bottom 10 floors of the building an atrium stood. In the centre of the atrium there was a small indoor garden. It was new, the plants were immature and just starting to bed themselves in, but a small fountain trickled quietly in the centre of it all,   
the sound almost as peaceful as the patter of raindrops on the window pane. 

Eventually, Tony led him to a stretch of offices that had been converted into another indoor garden. This time, it was much more private, set away from the lecture theatres and what would become teaching facilities. It was higher up, with lights and water and a jungle of indoor ferns and flowering plants set into carefully designed beds. Tony led him to a corner of the office, a quiet little spot by the window where there was some seating and a little table. Somewhere to take a break. "So, what do you think?"

Bruce decided it was best to not tell Tony what he'd thought at first - that he was being pushed out and hidden away. At first they'd only seen laboratories for his projects. As soon as he'd seen one for Tony's as well he'd felt so relieved that he'd squeezed Tony's hand and held onto him that much tighter. Looking on it with fresh eyes made it perfect. The building was a good layout, fully equipped and tooled up ready for them to start, and it would only improve with time. "Are you making us an escape?"

"In a way. I... um," he shook his head with a grin, leading Bruce a few steps closer to the window. "I know you won't remember this but that's okay, because I don't remember this either actually."

When Tony gestured to the windowsill, Bruce finally saw it. 

"Oh, this is..." There in the stonework was the imprint of a very large hand, the fingers dragging down and away out of sight down the building. In the back of his mind, The Hulk shifted and stretched, remembering that time eighteen months before when he'd caught the 'shiny man' as he'd fallen. This was where he'd grabbed the building to slow himself down, holding Tony tight. Bruce closed his eyes, trying to ease the rumbling in his head, the pride of his other self over saving Tony and the happiness that he got from knowing that Tony had bothered to save that proof was dizzying for a moment. "Right..."

Tony slid a hand through Bruce's hair, tangling in the curls gently. He coaxed Bruce's head up to kiss him softly. "Yeah. I thought..., well. There's something I want to ask you and this is part of it." 

"Ask away," Bruce smiled. He caught Tony's hand, squeezing it gently. The closeness had always been important, the little intimacies, just as much as the more private moments that they shared. He loved to hold Tony's hand - even if they weren't fully able to do it in public yet.

Tony took a deep breath. He closed his eyes and exhaled slowly. Then he opened his eyes again, rubbing his thumb over Bruce's knuckles. Bruce knew the look Tony was giving him. The wide-eyed, hopeful look that Tony had borne that time that he'd asked if it was okay to be a couple. Even before that, when Tony had asked him to stay, to not go back to India or disappear again. He looked so needy and endearing that Bruce could never say no to him. "We've been... really great. Together. Done a lot of good work, had a lot of amazing fun and I just... don’t want that to end. Ever. So I was hoping... I mean... I wanted to ask if maybe... you’d... stay with me. Forever," he was nervous, pausing and almost stumbling over his words. 

"I've never had this much fun with anyone. I wasn't about to run out on...you..." Bruce's voice trailed off into nothingness as he watched Tony slowly lower himself onto one knee, looking up at him. Surely he wasn't. No, Bruce was imagining things. 

Tony held both of Bruce's hands in one of his, pulling a small ring box out of his pocket. 

Oh god. He wasn't imagining things. 

The box opened, revealing a criss-cross etched ring in yellow gold metal - a nod to his favourite color as well as to tradition - nestled on a black velvet pillow ”I know you weren't, Bruce. But I want... I want you to be mine, and with me. I want you to marry me. I can’t promise to be perfect but I do promise to always love you, and to do my best to be the husband you deserve.” 

Bruce finally remembered how to breathe. He nodded, smiling, only really casting a brief glance at the ring. The ring wasn't important - Tony was important. Tony was what he wanted and who he wanted to stay with. Tony had been the best thing to happen to him in years. "Yes, I want you, Tony."

Tony's expression changed to the also familiar wide eyed elation, the complete happiness and openness that only Bruce had seen. Bruce loved and adored to see that expression on Tony's face - it was everything he'd ever wanted to see ever since the first time he'd seen it, and Bruce hated that it was still so rare, and that he seemed to be the only one to treasure it. Tony tugged him down, so Bruce knelt and kissed his lover tenderly as the rain pattered softly against the windows behind them. 

"I've always thought that you were perfect," Bruce whispered as they broke the kiss. Tony let his hands go and Bruce wrapped both arms around his lover, holding onto him tightly.

"Just like you've been perfect," Tony grinned and blushed, tangling the fingers of one hand into Bruce's hair. He always found comfort doing that. "I am... so amazingly happy right now. Just.. wow." 

Laughing softly, Bruce finally gave the ring a more appreciative look. Bonded yellow gold and the etching wasn't just etching - the band was made to expand and contract. He cupped the ring box and Tony's hand carefully, tipping it this way and that to admire the workmanship, then let go and lowered his hand to pinch Tony's ass. "So this is where you've been sneaking off to?"

Tony gave a little surprised yelp at the pinch, and laughed. "Guilty as charged. I wanted to be sure it'd work. I'm marrying you, not the big guy, but I didn't want him to accidentally break your wedding ring when he shows up."

Bruce kissed Tony at the corner of his mouth. He should have believed in Tony. He shouldn't have ever thought anything was untoward - even if Tony was terrible at being sneaky. "When?"

“Mmm. I was thinking... small, private ceremony. Say... on Christmas?” 

"Just us and close friends?"

"Yeah," Tony nodded. "It'll give the villains less opportunity to crash the real wedding. We can do the big official announcement whenever you want, though."

"...you mean this Christmas, don't you?" Bruce asked, bemused. He had some idea of what it would take to organise a wedding, even a small one and even if Betty had done most of the organisation and preparation for their own wedding years before. Here Tony wanted to do all of that in less than twenty-four days and have everything ready on Christmas day. 

"Unless you know a reason why we should wait," Tony smiled. Nope, he had absolutely no idea what he was asking for, but then that was nothing new and if Tony had any idea what was going to be involved, he'd have already drafted in Pepper to make preparations as soon as he'd gotten the idea to propose into his head. 

"Oh we're going to be busy for the next few weeks."

"Busy?" Tony scoffed and shrugged. "We can create prototypes in two weeks. A wedding should be easy."

"Can't fab a wedding venue, official, decorations, guests, food and the rest though," Bruce shook his head. Of course Tony would think it was easy. That would change.

"But that's stuff we can decide over a nice movie."

Bruce stole one last kiss from his lover - fiancé now, really. Tony was his fiancé. That was going to take a little getting used to. And he had less than a month, providing they could actually pull this off, to get used to it before he had to start thinking of Tony as his husband too. With the taste of Tony still on his lips, Bruce stood and tugged Tony's hand to pull him up too. "Up. We have a lot of work to do."

Tony grinned at him, tucking the ring box away and letting himself be pulled to his feet. "Mm, when do we not? It'll be fun."

"I will remind you that you said that before the wedding, I'm sure," Bruce grinned right back, holding Tony's hand that much tighter. This was it. This was what he wanted for the rest of his life. Tony's hand in his. 

“Remind me all you want. Because it’ll also remind me that you said yes, and I’d go through anything for that. For you.”


End file.
